Ahalya Sthan (also called Ahilya Sthan or Ahilya Asthan) is a Hindu temple located at Ahiyari South in the city of Darbhanga, State of Bihar, India. [1] The temple is dedicated to Ahalya. [2]
According to Ramayana, Rama and Lakshmana went to forest with Brahmarshi Vishvamitra to protect his yagna. On their way, they came across a deserted place called as Gautam Ashram. When Rama inquired about the place, Visvamitra related the story of Sati Ahalya, wife of Gautama Maharishi. The Maharishi used to do penance by staying here with his wife. One day when Gautama Rishi had gone out of the ashram, in his absence, Indra came in disguised as Gautama Rishi. Ahalya, without knowing the real identity of the person, succumbed to Indra's desire. Gautam Maharishi came to know this and cursed his wife to lie as a stone in this place. When she pleaded, the maharishi said, when Rama visits this place, you will return to your normal self. Visvamitra told Rama to go into the ashram. As soon as Rama's radiance brightened the place, Ahalya stood up with her own body and prayed to Rama. Ahalya being the wife of Maharishi, Rama and Lakshmana paid their obeisance to her. [3]
Ahalya Sthan is the place where once the ashram of Maharishi Gautama stood. The temple, in its present structural form was built between 1662 and 1682 during the rule of Maharaja Chhatra Singh and Maharaja Rudra Singh. This is also the first Ram Janaki temple in India. [4] The temple is beautifully made with fine patterns and designs of art and ancient Indian architecture. Inside the shrine, there is a flat stone said to contain the foot prints of Sita, wife of Ram, as the main object of worship. [5]
The temple is open from 5 a.m. till 10 p.m. daily. Ramanavami is celebrated, in the Hindu month of Chaitra (March end - April beginning) and Vivah Panchami in Agrahayana. [5]
Hanuman, also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya, is a deity in Hinduism, revered as a divine vanara, and a devoted companion of the deity Rama. Central to the Ramayana, Hanuman is celebrated for his unwavering devotion to Rama and is considered a chiranjivi. He is traditionally believed to be the spiritual offspring of the wind deity Vayu, who is said to have played a significant role in his birth. In Shaiva tradition, he is regarded to be an incarnation of Shiva, while in most of the Vaishnava traditions he is the son and incarnation of Vayu. His tales are recounted not only in the Ramayana but also in the Mahabharata and various Puranas.
In Hinduism, Ahalya also spelt as Ahilya, is the wife of the sage Gautama Maharishi. Many Hindu scriptures describe her legend of seduction by the king of the gods Indra, her husband's curse for her infidelity, and her liberation from the curse by the god Rama.
Bharadvaja was one of the revered Vedic sages (maharishi) in Ancient India. He was a renowned scholar, economist, grammarian and a physician. He is one of the Saptarishis.
Vishvamitra is one of the most venerated rishis or sages of ancient India. Vishvamitra is one of the seven Brahmarshi. According to Hindu tradition, he is stated to have written most of the Mandala 3 of the Rigveda, including the Gayatri Mantra (3.62.10). The Puranas mention that only 24 rishis since antiquity have understood the whole meaning of —and thus wielded the whole power of — the Gayatri Mantra. Vishvamitra is supposed to have been the first, and Yajnavalkya the last.
Lakshmana, also known as Laxmana, Saumitra and Ramanuja, is a Hindu god and the younger brother of Rama in the Hindu epic Ramayana. He is considered as an incarnation of Shesha, the lord of serpents. Lakshmana was married to Urmila, and is known for his loyalty and dedication towards Rama.
Meghanada, also referred to by his epithet Indrajita, according to Hindu texts, was the eldest son of Ravana and the crown prince of Lanka, who conquered Indraloka (Heaven). He is regarded as one of the greatest warriors in Hindu texts. He is a major character mentioned in the Indian epic Ramayana. Meghanada is the central character in Bengali ballad Meghnad Badh Kavya. He played an active role in the great war between Rama and Ravana. He acquired many kinds of celestial weapons from his Guru Shukra. His most prominent feat is having defeated the devas in heaven. Using the Brahmastra, Indrajita killed 670 million vanaras in a single day; nearly exterminating the entirety of the vanara race. No warrior had ever achieved this statistical feat before in the Ramayana. He is the only warrior in the entire Ramayana to defeat both Rama and Lakshmana twice while they were both armed by making them unconscious in a battle with the help of astras and sorcery and finally got killed by Lakshmana. He was said to be more powerful and superior warrior than his father Ravana by Brahma and Agastya. He is the only warrior in the entire Hindu text to possess all three "Trimurti astras", namely, Brahmastra, Vaishnavastra, and Pashupatastra.
The Shri Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple is an ancient Hindu temple in the town of Trimbak, in the Trimbakeshwar tehsil in the Nashik District of Maharashtra, India, 28 km from the city of Nashik and 40 km from Nashik road. It is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva and is one of the twelve jyotirlingas where the Hindu genealogy registers at Trimbakeshwar, Maharashtra are kept. The origin of the sacred Godavari River is near Trimbak.
Darbhanga district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state in eastern India, and Darbhanga city is the administrative headquarters of this district and 5th largest city of Bihar as well. Darbhanga district lies in Historical Mithila region. Darbhanga district is a part of Darbhanga Division. The district is bounded on the north by Madhubani district, on the south by Samastipur district, on the east by Saharsa district and on the west by Sitamarhi and Muzaffarpur districts. The district covers an area of 2,279 km2 (880 sq mi).
The name Gautam is one of the ancient Indian names and is derived from the Sanskrit roots "gŐ(गः)" and "tama (तम)". "Tama" means "darkness" and "gŐ" means inter alia "bright light". Together they indicate one, who dispels darkness by his brilliance.
Urmila, is a Hindu goddess and the princess of Videha in the Hindu epic Ramayana. She is considered to be an avatāra of Nagalakshmi, the serpent goddess. Urmila was married to Lakshmana and is known for her dedication towards her husband, for her courage and sacrifice.
Ayothiapattinam is a panchayat town located in Vazhapadi taluk of Salem district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. This village is called Ayothyapatinam because of famous Kodandaramaswamy Temple, and is called as the. The temple is thought to remain from the time of Ramayana and finds mention in the Valmiki Ramayana.
Rivilganj is a town and one of the oldest nagar panchayat in Saran district in the Indian state of Bihar.
Gautama Maharishi, was a sage in Hinduism, who is also mentioned in Jainism and Buddhism. Gautama is mentioned in the Yajurveda, Ramayana, and Gaṇeśa Pūrana and is known for cursing his wife Ahalyā. Another important story related to Gautama is about the creation of river Godavari, which is also known as Gautami.
Pampa Sarovara is a lake in Koppal district near Hampi in Karnataka. To the south of the Tungabhadra River, it is considered sacred by Hindus and is one of the five sacred sarovars, or lakes in India. According to Hindu theology, there are five sacred lakes; collectively called Panch Sarovar; Mansarovar, Bindu Sarovar, Narayan Sarovar, Pampa Sarovar and Pushkar Sarovar. They are also mentioned in Shrimad Bhagavata Purana. In Hindu scriptures Pampa Sarovar is regarded as the place where Pampa, a form of Shiva's consort Parvati, performed penance to show her devotion to Shiva. It is also one of the Sarovar's that finds a mention in the Hindu epic, Ramayana as the place where Shabari, a devotee of Rama waited for the arrival of Ram.
The Panchakanya is a group of five iconic women of the Hindu epics, extolled in a hymn and whose names are believed to dispel sin when recited. They are Ahalya, Draupadi, Kunti, Tara, and Mandodari. While Draupadi and Kunti are from the Mahabharata, Ahalya, Tara, and Mandodari are from the Ramayana. The Panchakanya are regarded to be ideal women who exemplify perfect wives in Hinduism.
Ramayan is a Hindi TV series that was aired on Zee TV in 2001. It is a television adaptation of the ancient Indian epic of the same name, and is primarily based on Valmiki's Ramayana, Tulsidas Ramcharitramanas, Kalidasa's Raghuvaṃśa and Kambar's Kambh Ramayana. It was produced and directed by Baldev Raj Chopra and Ravi Chopra.
Gautam Ashram was a gurukul of the ancient Indian philosopher Gautama. It is located at the west bank of Khiroi river in Brahmpur village of Jale block of Darbhanga district in Bihar. It is only at a seven kilometres distance from Kamtaul railway station.
Jale, or Jalley, is a town and the administrative center of Jale Block, Darbhanga District, Bihar, India. It is located to the north of Bagmati River, about 32 kilometres northwest of the district capital Darbhanga. The town was named after Jaleshwari sthan which is a pilgrimage site in rural area of Darbhanga. In the year 2011, it has a total population of 37,256.
Rama's Journey in Mithila is the part of Ramayana from the Vishwamitra Ashram at Buxar to the Kingdom of Mithila.